


rivals

by ayykaashi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Training Camp, akaashi rare pair week 2k17, light akakage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 15:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11233944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayykaashi/pseuds/ayykaashi
Summary: Akaashi has never felt an intense burning his chest until then, and as he bent to reach for his fallen towel, the cogs in his head turned. His thoughts shifted. “I wonder what can I do to beat him?” // akaasi rare pair week 2k17 prompt 1: rivals





	rivals

**Author's Note:**

> SOMETHING RLY SHORT BCS RN COLLEGE IS NOT OK but thats fine!! i love akaashi i want him to be happy so pls enjoy!!

The first time Akaashi meets Kageyama was during his second year in high school. Clad in the signature black Karasuno jersey coupled with his perpetually resting—for a lack of better word—bitch face, Kageyama looked pretty imposing for a freshman. Akaashi could remember clearly how his train of thought was when he first laid eyes on the younger— _“What would it take for this stoic boy to crack like Bokuto-san?”_

Of course, he never acted on that thought. Impulses were natural, and Akaashi knew better than to act on them rashly.

Throughout the camp, that train of thought continued in his mind. However, the first game he watched—live, just a few courts away from his own game—shook his belief of a stone-faced teenager and cracked it in the process.

Akaashi couldn’t count how many times Bokuto captivated him, there was too many too count.

But watching Kageyama jump lightly into the air, his feet leaving the ground with less distance compared to that tiny middle blocker, sent his muscles halting in place. He watched as Kageyama kept his eyes on the ball alone, yet keeping aware of the spikers nearby him, and let his eyes follow the boney fingers that raised for a quick set.

People stopped and stared to watch, and Akaashi was no better, he knew, but he could tell what made him different from _them_.

They stopped and stared for the block made and the spike hit. He let his grip on his towel let loose because of the setter, and just how utterly _captivating_ he looked as he focused.

Akaashi has never felt an intense burning his chest until then, and as he bent to reach for his fallen towel, the cogs in his head turned. His thoughts shifted.

_“I wonder what can I do to beat him?”_

He felt the beginnings of a smirk forming on his face and slowly morph into a grin. He quickly excused himself for a water break, pushing down the swirl of excitement that began to emerge from the depths of his being.

It was just pure luck then that Bokuto started requesting for late night practices again, because Akaashi knew it was the first step to quelling the burn inside of him. It was also by some twist of fate that Kuroo joined in, as well as his tall, foreign teammate. It didn’t take long for two of Karasuno’s first year starters to come in as well, one willingly and one by taunts.

While Akaashi knew the practices were more for the spikers and blockers than him, he still used it to his advantage. Practice ball control. Flex fingers properly. Bend those knees some more or a bit less. _Keep your eyes on the ball. Don’t flick your wrists yet._ Breathe in, breathe out—oh crap, Bokuto’s hyped again, need to adjust. Keep your eyes on the ball. Keep your eyes on the ball.

A flash of dark hair and blue eyes flicker into his vision. Akaashi shakes them away and focuses on the excitement that remains as residue from them images.

 _Keep your eyes on the ball_.

In the end, however, they didn’t really play. At least, not the way Akaashi wanted to.

Kageyema wasn’t in it. He wasn’t the same person that captivated Akaashi, and it frustrated him. Where was the focused stare that took him by surprise? The firm fingers that took so much of Akaashi’s attention? The form that looked better than his own?

Where was it all?

Akaashi tried to squish down the feeling of disappointment that threatened to eat him out. He knew what was going on in the crows’ team as of late, and he knew he shouldn’t have expected him to be in top form all at the ready, but he still _wished_ to see it once more.

He tried to hype himself up again with his own stern words and clear-cut truths, but it barely worked.

His team won the game, but Akaashi wasn’t all that happy, honestly.

There was a dull ache in his chest that carried through the rest of the day. He expected too much, he knew, but what could he do against human nature? He knew he couldn’t fight it, so he dealt with the consequences as best as he could. He carried himself throughout the day as if it were any normal day, keeping himself busy with his captain and practicing as hard as he can.

The day seemed to pass by him, and before he knew it, he was already taking his evening bath. The steam of place calmed his nerves and soothed his disappointment a bit, giving him space to breathe at last. He basks himself with the warm water and its fragrance as he sat by the edge of the bath, not minding the door’s opening in the background as he closed his eyes.

He felt the water shift around him, but paid no mind. He kept his head up with his eyes closed, letting his thoughts drown in the bath he was in—then there was a _voice_.

“Akaashi…senpai?”

Dark green eyes open lazily, peering a look at the other figure on the opposite side. He blinked a few times, before absorbing who was in front of him. “Kageyama-san?”

The younger was hazy in his visage, but he could clearly see those pools of blue and the shade of pink decorating his cheeks. “Ah, yeah,” Kageyama scratched his cheek sheepishly, “I…I had something to ask you.”

Akaashi stared at him a bit more before shifting his head to look at him properly. “Yes?”

Kageyama swallowed. “Di…Did I play well today?” Akaashi gave him a surprised stare, which seemed to send the younger in a frenzy as he started waving his hands around. “I-I mean like, I know how I’ve been doing lately, I know! S-So I wanted to ask you, li-like as a setter, if I did well…” He paused. “Please?”

Disappointment fully gone now, Akaashi expected it to return at the question presented—but it didn’t. The excitement from earlier began to shift in him, along with some other emotion he could only call as longing, with of course, concern. “If you knew how you were playing, why do you see the need to consul me about it?

His question and his voice seemed to be harsh for Kageyama as he suddenly shied away. “I-I wanted a second opinion, an outsider and a professional’s view…please.”

Akaashi pondered a bit before replying, “If you know what and how you did, I think there’s no more need for a different point of view’s thoughts. Only you would know yourself in the best way possible, after all.” He shrugged. “If you really want my answer though, I’d say you could’ve done better, Kageyama-san, and I’m expecting you do so.” He gave a small smirk to the younger, before he let his words set in as he observed him. A different emotion bubbled in the elder’s chest at seeing a flash of red on Kageyama’s face.  Something warm. His smirk faltered a bit. “What did you just call me?”

The red on his face just seemed to glow. “A-An outsider and a professional…?”

At this point, Akaashi could feel something warm pooling in his cheeks as well. “I…am quite flattered you see me as such, Kageyama-san, that’s a bit too highly.”

In a slow movement of time, blue pools focused their attention on him clearly. “I really think of you highly, senpai!” He said, voice more resolute than earlier. “You’re one of the youngest vice-captains out there, and one of the best setters in our circuit.” He paused, and took a gulp of air. “You might not be as recognized as Oikawa-san, but I respect you a lot either way.” By then, Kageyama’s face was flaming, and Akaashi could feel the same on his face, but then Kageyama—

“I’d like to think of you as a rival!”

Rival.

Huh.

If he were someone like Bokuto, he would’ve probably jumped at the challenge, either insulted or complimented. Mostly complimented, he figured. That was how he acted with Kuroo, after all.

He never did understand what it meant to have a rival, how it felt, and how it worked. He knew to some it was a threat, but to others, it was a compliment of the highest level.

That warm feeling grew in him, from his cheeks all the way to his toes, and Akaashi couldn’t help the soft laugh that left his lips.  He could feel Kageyama’s shocked eyes on him, and after composing himself, he gave a mirthful smile to him. “You know, Kageyama-san, this feels like I’m receiving a confession in the baths, and that’s not really the ideal way to get someone, to be frank.”

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!” Kageyama burned up and gave a low bow in the water.The way Kageyama burned up again made him crack up some more, and he heard him say, “I’m so sorry!”

“I-It was just a joke, don’t worry,” Akaashi calmed down, still keeping his smile. He knew how weird he must’ve looked, with his wider eyes and smile, but he didn’t mind right now. He was just simply so _contented_ right now, and he was starting to come to terms with some things. “But really, I’m shocked you think so much of me like that. It’s endearing honestly,” he smirked, “And to take a leaf from Bokuto-san’s words, it quite riles me up.”

A shaky smile formed on Kageyama’s lips at his words, as stars seemed to fly around him and in his blue, blue eyes. “I look forward to playing against you, senpai.”

 _Rivals._ Previous thoughts and disappointments go down the drain as that one word fills his head. It sends his heart beating loudly in his ears and his lips twitching with his hands. Determination tickles his feet and slithers up his being with excitement. “The same goes for me, Kageyama-kun.”

_That sounds nice._

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope yall enjoyed!! hmu on tumblr + twit @ ayyakaashi!!
> 
> thanks for reading!!


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